Model trains and the holiday season run on the same track for many families. For one Kirkland man and his family, model trains and life have been linked up for 27 years.

Eastside Trains, located in downtown Kirkland, has been a destination for enthusiasts and the curious since 1983 and is the second-largest store of its kind west of the Mississippi River.

“I started out in my home,” said Eastside Trains owner Steve Suskin. “In 1989 we moved to Houghton. We built this shop 17-years ago … If you build it they will come.”

The shop is hard to miss, freestanding and located on Central Way one block south of Peter Kirk Park, it gets many unique visitors this time of year.

Despite being a destination for the serious collector, the shop sees everything from customers in need of repairs, wanting a train for under the tree, to tikes with that age-old-infatuation with the locomotive.

“We get a lot of first-time buyers this time of year,” said Suskin, 57. “Many want the nostalgia … and we get buried in repairs. We have something for everyone.”

The store even carries the wooden Thomas the Train sets and cars for younger kids and collectors. The Thomas stories have been around since World War II. And the Thomas line may become more popular in the store as Suskin’s daughter, Stacie Rottinghaus, who is 30 and works at the store, is pregnant with his first grandson.

“I enjoy the organized chaos,” said Rottinghaus.

Her childhood is full of train memories with her dad.

“My favorite memory is of bringing cookies to the customers down in the shop in our house,” she said.

Rottinghaus said that the Thomas trains are also a big hit with autistic children: “I had one mom who told me that her son really came alive when he discovered Thomas.”

For Suskin, his interest in trains started when he was four.

He said that he hasn’t really seen the interest of young kids wane over the years, even with the popularity of video games. But he does see greater interest when Thomas the Train is airing on TV regularly.

“It is a good wholesome hobby and it forces them to use creativity,” said Suskin of trains. “Lots of parents want their kids to turn off the video games and this stimulates their mind – it is a good alternative.”

Eastside Trains carries all track sizes from G-gauge, the largest, all the way down to Z-gauge, which is getting more and more rare.

Suskin’s customer base comes from all over the Pacific Northwest and Brittish Columbia. Suskin has even had a customer from Sweden.

Although patrons cannot purchase through the Web site, Suskin still gets long-distance orders via phone and mail. He also has some customers that have been with the shop since it was in his basement.

Being a hobby shop, Eastside Trains has suffered with the economy like most businesses, but is still running strong with its unique brand.

The model train industry has changed a lot during the past decade-and-a-half.

“From the 1970s up to the 1990s there was not a lot of innovation,” said Suskin. “From 1995 on there has been one innovation after another.”

Those innovations come from technologies getting cheaper and smaller. Everything from the sounds, to how the models operate, have changed in the past 15 years.

But for many, the classic trains don’t lose their luster and Eastside Trains has three of their 12 employees dedicated to repairs.

“Everyone has their own expertise,” said Suskin.

It is also the only authorized repair shop for Lionel or MTH brands in the state.

Eastside Trains also does all the repairs for the model trains in the Seattle Center House during the holiday season.

“Those trains got cut from the Seattle City Council’s budget and Mayor McGinn made them put it back in,” said Suskin, whose personal collection is O-gauge.

The train business sells to people of all ages, says Suskin, but “at 16-35, trains don’t penetrate cause guys are into other things like girls and parties.”

But Suskin has one mantra that he lives by: “You’re never too old to have a happy childhood.”

Eastside Trains is located at 217 Central Way in Kirkland. For more information call 425-828-4098.